Waters of Tengoku

Rokugani communal bath house and outdoor hot spring owned by Hisao a lecherous
man and often aided by his daughter and teenage grandchildren. The entrance fro
m the outside looks somewhat similar to a temple, with a Japanese curtain across
the entrance. The curtain is usually a brilliant blue and shows the for hot wat
er. After the entrance there is an area for shoes, followed by two long curtains
on each side. In Japan it is customary to remove one's shoes when entering a pr
ivate home. Similarly shoes are removed before entering the bathing area. They a
re kept in a designated area. Afterwards bathers go through one of the two doors
depending on their gender. These lead to the changing room for the men and wom
en respectively. The men's and the women's side are very similar and differ only
slightly in the decor. There are a number of tables and chairs in the communal
area, The decoration is intended to seem exotic and alluring. There is an area w
here here where customers can self-serve and pay the attendant Tea, sake and of
ten candies can be purchased.
Changing Room
The public bathing facility has a front desk where the person in charge or empl
oyee sits at a front desk that is a horseshoe-shaped platform with a railing. I
mmediately in front of the front desk is a utility door, to be used by the atten
dants only. The dressing room is partly covered with tatami sheets and contains
a place for the clothes. There is a large shelf for storing equipment for regu
lar customers.
The ceiling is very high and the separating wall between the men's and the women
's side is high to ensure no peeking. The dressing room has access to a very sma
ll Japanese garden with a pond, and a Japanese-style toilet.
Etiquette
The Japanese public bath is one area where the uninitiated can upset regular cus
tomers by not following correct bathing etiquette designed to respect others. In
particular; not washing before bathing, introducing soap or oils into the bath
water and horseplay. There is a display poster describing bathing etiquette and
procedures in Japanese or occasionally in other languages for gaijin costumers.
Bathing area
The bathing area is separated from the changing area by a sliding door to keep t
he heat in the bath. Near the entrance area is a supply of small stools and buck
ets. There are a number of washing stations at the wall and in the middle of the
room is water to wash off before getting in the tubs, as it is customary to cle
an before soaking.
At the end of the room are the bathtubs, usually at least two or three with diff
erent water temperatures, The wall farthest from view of the tubs has a small s
liding section used to pass soap. At the wall on the far end of the room is a
large ceramic tile mural for decoration of a general Japanese landscape.
Outside Hot springs area
At the hot springs, the water contains minerals, and many people do not rinse of
f the water from the skin, to increase exposure to the minerals. The Giant pools
of hot spring water is divided with bamboo and plants to make visibility almos
t impossible without being obvious at what you are trying to attempt.